July 11, 2002
A month after a Clifton home was burglarized, the homeowner found some of her stolen jewelry for sale in a Vienna pawn shop. The burglar is still at large, but the homeowner's discovery led to the arrest of the man who allegedly bought the jewelry from the thief.
Charged July 1 with receiving stolen goods was Rasheed Yusuf Ali, 30, of 1624 Purple Sage Drive in Reston. If convicted, he could receive as much as five years in prison.
In an affidavit seeking a search warrant for Ali's home and car, Fairfax County Police Det. Nancy Reynolds explained the case. It began May 26, when a family in the 12300 block of Henderson Road in Clifton reported a burglary to police.
"Entry was gained through a rear door which had been kicked in," wrote the detective. "A gun and several pieces of jewelry valued in excess of $50,000 were taken from the master bedroom closet."
Among the items taken were a diamond and white-gold tennis bracelet valued at $17,500 and a pair of diamond stud earrings worth $13,208. The gun was a 1911 Colt 45.
Police gave the victim a list of local pawn shops to visit in search of her jewelry. On June 24, she called Reynolds and said she'd found several of her pilfered pieces at Tysons Art and Jewelry Exchange in Vienna. Next day, she and her husband met Reynolds at the store and identified 10 pieces of their jewelry. Then the store manager allegedly identified Ali as the person who sold the jewelry to the store.
"Store employees recognized Mr. Ali as being a regular customer since February 2002," wrote the detective. "[They] further advised that he's been known to bring in large quantities of fine jewelry."
Police asked store employees to notify them if he returned to the store and, last Monday, July 1, he did. The store called and said Ali was trying to sell a loose diamond. Police responded and arrested Ali, later questioning him about the jewelry.
"Ali advised that he did, indeed, sell the items in question," wrote Reynolds. "[He] further advised that he knew the items were stolen. Ali said he often buys stolen property and sells it for profit."
Police charged him with receiving stolen property and took him to the Adult Detention Center. He was released July 2 on $5,000 bond and has an Aug. 27 court date.
Meanwhile, police — and the victims — still hope the rest of the items will show up. Among items reported missing were pearl, diamond, sapphire, ruby, onyx and emerald rings. One ring, alone, had six blue sapphires and six diamonds, and another featured 12 rubies and 13 diamonds. The earrings were made of topaz, diamonds, pearls, tanzanite and rubies.
The stolen bracelets featured sapphires, diamonds, pearls, onyx, garnet and jade. The necklaces were pearl, diamond and gold. Also taken were several precious stones — a ruby, diamond, emerald and sapphire. The thief swiped a Canon camera with portrait lens, too.
Police executed search warrants, July 3, at Ali's home and car. From his 1993 Toyota Camry they seized Fossil and Technomarine watches, a gold wire bracelet, pepper spray, a marble-faced statue and a carved gold vase. From his Reston townhouse they seized 97 miscellaneous coins.